Ready, but not finished, my life is as fragile as the snow and will remain as long as my gracious LORD desires; in some ways I am like a snowman crafted by the hands of God. In other ways, simply a tool in His hands that is happiest when used and used up. I relish the strong hands of God grasping me and thrusting me into work He has to accomplish; yet I know He could speak it done and I am used only at His pleasure. He cleans me off, sharpens me against the grinding wheel, coats me with oil over the paint that is the blood He shed that made me new, made me His.
As a gardener, I love to dream of selecting the exact seeds, planting the seeds, watching them break through the soil and picturing the end results, the fruit or flower. The smell of rich, clean, soil is a reminder of the earth in which I was created and that which I will return. How precious a life that is filled with dreams, of use, of giving rather than taking; so many people are alive, but seem like walking dead. It is so overwhelmingly sad to witness those whose innocence have been stolen or sold to the things of this world. Yet how overwhelmingly joyous to be just a small part of those who regain their innocence and become as a child in the hands of their Creator again.
I have been enjoying several books and highly recommend an updated English version of the Imitation of Christ by Thomas a'Kempis which can be found at: The Imitation of Christ, 2003. There is something to be gained from the writings of several classics like this one. The depth of devotion and separation from the trappings of the world are heard in the words of this wonderful treasure and of the mystics. Though I question some of the mortification of the time, the call of Christ is upon us all that we are to be in the world, but not of the world. Here are His words to the Father: "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world , even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." John 17:15-19 NIV
This week I've received several electronic messages that have brought tears to my eyes, one from a grateful mother and one from a grateful college student. Their words testify of God's redeeming work that is being accomplished through simple tools like my wife and I. We are humbled and strengthened. The bends and dents that come with the task are now cherished and borne with a sense of honored purpose. I know that when I do see Jesus face to face, He will restore me in His image; until then, I am ever more encouraged to stay the course which He opens before us. We do not walk alone, but follow the Creator of the universe that knows all things and has all power; we follow Him that never changes, never lies, never stops loving me, and will never leave me. This is the hope that drives me to the finished line. "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor." John 4:34-38 NIV
There is much to do, much to spend time on our faces seeking after the will of the Father for; I brought nothing into this world and I will take nothing out... except the knowledge that those that I have helped, I will see them again. My heart is patterned after the Father's, that all would come to know Him through Jesus Christ, His Son.
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